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A busy first half of the week arrives: Are you ready?

With spring-like weather completely upon us and no reason to be suffering from the winter doldrums, let's look at the best reasons to be out on the town during the first half of this week, shall we?

Over at The State Room, a live band with a fine reputation for blending various musical elements into a driving reggae-fueled sound, John Brown's Body, launch a busy week. The eight-piece band, which includes a three-man horn section, is renowned for its danceable grooves and has survived the loss of former bassist Scott Palmer, back in 2006. Local rockers, The No-Nation Orchestra, open the 8 p.m. concert. Tickets are $17 and remain on sale.

Also Monday, surfy-rocker and "friend of Jack Johnson," Donovan Frankenreiter headlines an 8 p.m. show at The Depot. Friends of mine tell me this guy puts on a terrific show and with everything else happening this week, you could miss a fun night if you skip this one. Tickets are $20 at the door. Frankenreiter's former band member Matt Grundy is the opening act at 8 p.m.

Also on Monday for those who prefer the theatre, it's the last chance to see a local production of the classic jury drama, "Twelve Angry Men," at the Sugar Factory Playhouse. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are $8.

On Tuesday, indie-rock fans face some difficult choices as two good bills arrive in Salt Lake City. At The Urban Lounge, Nada Surf headlines a gig with Aussie indie-rock duo An Horse opening. Normally, that'd be more than enough to get me out of the house on a weeknight, but to complicate matters The State Room is hosting buzz-rocker du jour Sharon Van Etten and Philadelphia's The War on Drugs for a co-headlining gig. Personally, I'd be happy to see any of these four bands headline a gig, but with all of them in town, virtually simultaneously, it creates some tough choices. Music starts at 8 p.m. at The State Room and tickets for that gig are $15. Tickets are $18 and remain available for the Urban Lounge show. This should be one long, fun night ...

On Wednesday for early outings fans, indie-folkies Megafaun play a Kilby Court gig with former DeYarmond Edison member Chris Porterfield. The Edison band splintered into Megafaun and saw fellow former member Justin Vernon create the hugely popular Bon Iver. Meanwhile, Porterfield's latest project is Field Report. (Check the band's only two available songs at this link.) This act is destined to grow in terms of buzz and popularity. (Those two songs bowled me over, FYI.)This will be a hip show that you can probably lord over your friends later on because you went and they didn't. Tickets are $10 and available at 24tix.com.

And a late-night party scene will go down at the Urban Lounge as Memphis rockers Lucero headline a 10 p.m. show. Larry and His Flask will open the gig. Despite the virtues of the other shows this week, this gig might be the best chance to take in a full-throttle rock concert in a club setting all week.

And don't forget to follow me on Twitter @murphyinfo for the latest concert announcements - of which there should be several this week.